Townsville Hospital Chief Organises Office Bins But Fails to Solve Industrial Action

Townsville Hospital and Health Service executive Kieran Keyes has acted decisively in regard to the current industrial action by reminding staff that additional general waste bins have been installed at locations across the Townsville University Hospital for staff wishing to empty their desk bins themselves.

We are all glad to hear he is on top of the rubbish problem, even though he is not on top of addressing the concerns of striking hospital staff.

More hospital workers have joined the industrial action which includes: Cleaners, Food Services, Wardspeople and Porters, Gardeners and Groundspeople, Storepeople, Laundry and Linen Workers, Security Officers, Truck drivers, Theatre Assistants and Clinical Assistants.

Mr Keyes has already given up on trying to resolve this matter, stating in a THHS-Broadcast recently “We anticipate bans will continue for some time and at this stage, will run through to 11:59pm on Saturday, 24 December 2022.”.   Just fix it Mr Keyes, this is why executives get paid the big bucks.

• Patient and staff safety is at risk because there is no contingency active for security staff.
• Nurses have reported that rubbish is building up, and this health and safety problem must be managed better.
• Stock is running dangerously low.
• Patient flow is being affected due to the slowdown in bed space cleans.
• Patient handlers will not take any direction from RNs unless the direction is written down.
• And more problems are to come including more bans next week.
  (In emergency situations these bans do not apply.)  

Nurses are again in the firing line thanks to the inability of hospital management and Queensland health bureaucrats to resolve this matter with operational workers.

Our members should not have to do the PSA’s work just because the bureaucrats can’t solve an industrial problem.

We call on Queensland Health and Townsville Hospital and Health Service management to resolve this matter sooner than Christmas Eve and we call on the QNMU and the Minister for Health to step up for nurses and to keep patients safe.

If the unions are calling for a 6% pay rise and other improvements to pay and conditions it would be manifestly unfair to nurses.

If we all know that the bargaining for these operational staff is going to end up at agreement around what the nurses got, then just get on with it now and remove the burden from nurses and the risks to patients.